RECIPES

Oh yum! That looks so good. I'm going to have to try that soon, probably the week after next. I already have my two chicken dishes for next week. lol I'm trying to limit cooking chicken to one or two nights a week. I used to love chicken but lately I've been into beef more. I'm craving smothered pork chops soooo bad. Anyone have a good recipe?

Here is a super easy smothered pork chop "recipe" I sometimes make (I sort of feel bad calling some of these things a recipe since they are so simple, lol)

4 pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk (that's a very technical and precise measurement, there. After you pour out the soup, pour fill up the soup can about half way with milk...:lol:)
1/2 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
salt
pepper
olive oil

Salt and pepper your pork chops on both sides.
Add a little olive oil to a large pan and warm on medium heat.
Once your oil is warm, add pork chops and fry on both sides until brown on each side (about 3-5 minutes per side)
In a seperate bowl, mix soup, milk, and ranch dressing mix until smooth. Add to the pan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, and simmer about 20 minutes until pork chops are cooked through, stirring occassionally and scraping drippings off the bottom of the pan to mix with the gravy.

This is also good served over rice.

Alissa, I find the simple "recipes" the most helpful. :)

We are terrible about not keeping the pantry or fridge stocked...to the point you couldn't even scrape together a meal from what I have in the house. As a result we eat out way too much, which is not good for health or budget reasons.

I am really working on getting a bunch of recipes that my family likes together so I can have 4 or 5 weeks of meal plans that I can just rotate. Or maybe I'll just have a collection of recipes I can thumb through to quickly put together a week's meal plan and grocery list. If the recipe is not simple then I likely won't be able to use it on a regular basis and that isn't super helpful, IMHO. I like to see the more complicated stuff too for ideas for special occasions or to make on the weekend or something but I really need easy stuff that is good and that little ones will like too.

I really need to pull out some of mine and share too. I love this thread and would like to keep it going.

Yes, on week nights I try to keep it as simple as possible too. Love any simple ideas anyone can share!

Yes, I agree, I like simpler recipes too. I'm especially loving crockpot recipes lately!


This is a simple sauce I like to make and it's truly delicious and simple to make!

Mushroom Sherry Sauce for Pork Chops or Chicken Breasts

What you need:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 shallots, finely diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sherry
1 1/4 cup beef broth (for pork) or chicken broth (for chicken), divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

In a medium skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter.

Add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute.

Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the sherry and cook for about 5 minutes, letting the alcohol cook off for a bit.

Add 1 cup of the beef or chicken broth.

Add the seasoning.

Simmer for about 5-7 minutes.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the cornstarch and the remaining ? cup broth. Mix until smooth.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the skillet, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens (a few minutes).

Taste and add any additional seasoning to your taste.

Serve over the meat.

Holy cr@p this soup is amazing!!

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
6 cups of water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 head shredded cabbage or 1 bag coleslaw mix (I like the larger bag)
3-4 cups cooked rice

Cook ground beef in a Dutch oven medium-high heat until crumbled and done. Drain grease. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups of water and 6 bouillon cubes. (Or substitute 6 cups of chicken stock or broth.) Stir in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Add bay leaves, paprika, dill weed, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cabbage and cook just until tender, but not too soft.

To serve, place a spoonful of rice in a bowl, then ladle hot soup over the top. Store rice and soup separately in fridge.

I come across a lot of road blocks with DH. BBQ chicken, something I love to make (because all you do is cook it..lol) he doesn't like. Or for that matter BBQ anything. Then he tells me he doesn't like chicken. Pfft. I love chicken. I'm not a big pork fan. We both like beef, but I can't do beef every night (although, I think he can).

I made lemon pepper chicken breasts, corn and broccoli and cheese last night....and he had two helpings, so he must not hate chicken THAT much.

I'll be making Steak Um's tonight. mmm....actually I think I'm gonna go make them now! See ya!

Ugh! Sorry your DH is such a picky eater. LOL@ him eating two helpings of chicken. I'm very lucky that DH loves everything I cook. He loves to try new things just as much as I do. What's steak ums? Please share the recipe! :D

I just put the green bean and chicken casserole in the oven. It only took 15 minutes to prepare everything and get it in the oven. I also cleaned up the kitchen in that time as well. I added sage because I want it to taste like Thanksgiving! lol I'm going to make a side salad and bake some fresh bread. I'm also having Hubby stop and grab some cranberry jelly! LOL :rolleyes:

So since I'm on bedrest as of today it seems my nesting has kicked in and all I want to do is cook.

I've made a quick quiche for dinner

Rollout pie crust - put in deep pie dish - poke with fork and bake 5 min on 425.

Layer 1 cup cheese, and if desired mushrooms and diced green onions.

Layer Quiche mixture -

Base 1 tbsp flour, 3 eggs, 1 cu sour cream or yogurt

Today I've cooked a bag of baby spinach with some diced bacon for teh DH and mixed in the quiche base

Bake 425 for 15 min, lower to 350 for 30 min.

Only thing I had to stand for was cooking down the bacon & fresh spinach and that took < 5 min so I would consider that in my approved 'light food prep' clause on bedrest...we usually eat with fruit if we have for dinner

Jina, that cabbage soup sounds amazing! Sounds like stuffed cabbage (which I desperately love) only in soup form. Will definitely try that once it starts getting colder.

Danny, your quiche sounds awesome too. I'm hungry!!!